World Series of Poker: Poker Player Ejected from Final Table
March 10, 2008
File this one under: "That's what you get for having an event in Atlantic City."
We got a press release from the WSOP master of communications and friend to media-types Nolan Dalla this morning with what can only be described as a teaser. At the bottom of his email about Frank Panetta winning a preliminary event at the WSOP Circuit stop in Atlantic City, there was the line, "Panetta's victory was nearly overshadowed by what must be considered one of the oddest and most awkward moments in poker tournament history." Well, with that kind of cliffhanger, we just had to open the attachment, and it did not disappoint.
Once the tournament got down to the final table, one of the players, a Lesley Thornburg from Richmond, VA, started acting obnoxiously and displaying very little class and respect toward his fellow final tablists. We can't write it up like Dalla can (plus, it's Friday afternoon and we're lazy), so here are the highlights from his report:
Then, the real drama began. ? Thornburg, who had been given two warnings for unsportsmanlike behavior on the previous day, pushed everyone?s patience to the limit with a ceaseless display of loud comments and baiting tactics lasting several hours. Nearing disqualification, opponents breathed a temporary sigh of relief when he called an all-in raise by Andy Santiago ? holding a totally dominated hand (Thornburg?s A-7 a huge dog versus A-Q). Kaboom! A seven flopped and the Virginian had seized the chip lead with a cavalier display of luck. The magic (or misfortune, depending on one?s perspective) would continue.
Then, all hell broke loose. Literally. Holding onto a perilous chip lead, Thornburg lost self-control and began jamming chips into the pot with reckless abandon. Warned by tournament officials (repeatedly) to stack his chips properly and obey the rules, Thornburg crossed the final demarcation of everyone?s patience when he shoved half of his stack into the pot and then later announced, ?all in.? Fed up with the annoying and confusing antics, officials announced Thornburg?s immediate disqualification. Lesley Thornburg, a general contractor from Richmond, VA earned $19,026 in prize money.
Hey, you think there's a way that we could act like an asshole and still get $19k for it? That's an avenue we'd like to explore because if you believe everything our wives say, then we'd be rich by now. Zing!
That's all we got for this week. Off to a bar, then a strip club, then a midget strip club and then that hot after-hours spot down the street until the sun come up.*
*This is all code for, "We're gonna go have a nice relaxing dinner with friends and then call it a night."
-- Bodog Beat
March 10, 2008
File this one under: "That's what you get for having an event in Atlantic City."
We got a press release from the WSOP master of communications and friend to media-types Nolan Dalla this morning with what can only be described as a teaser. At the bottom of his email about Frank Panetta winning a preliminary event at the WSOP Circuit stop in Atlantic City, there was the line, "Panetta's victory was nearly overshadowed by what must be considered one of the oddest and most awkward moments in poker tournament history." Well, with that kind of cliffhanger, we just had to open the attachment, and it did not disappoint.
Once the tournament got down to the final table, one of the players, a Lesley Thornburg from Richmond, VA, started acting obnoxiously and displaying very little class and respect toward his fellow final tablists. We can't write it up like Dalla can (plus, it's Friday afternoon and we're lazy), so here are the highlights from his report:
Then, the real drama began. ? Thornburg, who had been given two warnings for unsportsmanlike behavior on the previous day, pushed everyone?s patience to the limit with a ceaseless display of loud comments and baiting tactics lasting several hours. Nearing disqualification, opponents breathed a temporary sigh of relief when he called an all-in raise by Andy Santiago ? holding a totally dominated hand (Thornburg?s A-7 a huge dog versus A-Q). Kaboom! A seven flopped and the Virginian had seized the chip lead with a cavalier display of luck. The magic (or misfortune, depending on one?s perspective) would continue.
Then, all hell broke loose. Literally. Holding onto a perilous chip lead, Thornburg lost self-control and began jamming chips into the pot with reckless abandon. Warned by tournament officials (repeatedly) to stack his chips properly and obey the rules, Thornburg crossed the final demarcation of everyone?s patience when he shoved half of his stack into the pot and then later announced, ?all in.? Fed up with the annoying and confusing antics, officials announced Thornburg?s immediate disqualification. Lesley Thornburg, a general contractor from Richmond, VA earned $19,026 in prize money.
Hey, you think there's a way that we could act like an asshole and still get $19k for it? That's an avenue we'd like to explore because if you believe everything our wives say, then we'd be rich by now. Zing!
That's all we got for this week. Off to a bar, then a strip club, then a midget strip club and then that hot after-hours spot down the street until the sun come up.*
*This is all code for, "We're gonna go have a nice relaxing dinner with friends and then call it a night."
-- Bodog Beat
